Blog

There has been a growing interest in 4K entertainment in the home with the release of Dish Networks’ 4K player and a host of development in ultra high definition content streaming. But 4K isn’t just for television. In fact, commercial applications for the technology are outpacing adoption in residential applications and there are a number of reasons why.

24x7: Commercial applications require long duty cycles and reliability that one cannot find in consumer-grade equipment designed for in-home use. A few hours a day is very different than all day, every day usage models and products like the Planar UltraRes Series and Planar EP-Series 4K Series are built to the task.

Front-Serviceability: In public venues and mission critical applications, the display cannot be down. As the size of the displays get bigger (up to 98” diagonal or larger for video walls), they must be serviceable without having to take the display off the way, risking damage and incurring expense and more downtime. Planar’s products and our unique mounting solutions, like the Easy Access Mount and the Planar Profile mount, allow for front serviceability.

ADA-Compliance: Everyone likes a thin display, but some customers are legally required to install them. If you are a public building in the US or a government office, you are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires that the mounting depth of “protruding objects” (like displays hung on walls) need to be less than 4” off the wall. Planar’s mounting solutions and unique architectures, like you find in the Clarity Matrix with G2 Architecture, make this slim mounting depth possible.

4K at 60 Hz: It is critical that in the pursuit of resolution, we don’t compromise refresh rate (a common trade-off when working within the constraints of bandwidth). The Planar UltraRes product can take in up to 8 sources, all capable of full 4k, and can take in sources that are running at a full frame rate of 60 Hz. This leads to smooth motion video and fast response to cursor moves.

Multi-Source Viewing, Switching, and Scaling: The ability to hook up multiple sources, switch between them easily (via a remote, or software, a control system like Crestron or AMX, or even an iOS phone or tablet app), and scale any of them to the full screen or portions of the screen is critical in large displays and video walls. 4k screens have the resolution to allow for the simultaneous display of four (4) full HD signals, but televisions don’t have that functionality. The Planar UltraRes App takes this further with a free iOS to allow for source switching and scaling into quadrants of the display and it comes standard with the purchase of the display.

High Pixel Density for Close-up Viewing: Viewers need only to stand 5 or 6 feet back from a Planar UltraRes 84” display until they can no longer distinguish the individual pixels. On smaller displays like the 58” or 65”EP-Series, the distance is even closer! As displays get bigger and conference rooms get smaller, having this pixel density is required.

Interactivity in 4K: Getting closer to the display is also a side-effect of one of the biggest trends in digital display today and that is interactivity. Touchscreen technologies are turning displays into input devices. Planar offers touchscreens interactivity across products ranging from 15” to 98” and then on video walls up to 300”.

For all of the reasons above, the time for 4K in commercial applications is now!

At the recent Academy Awards, the technology used in all Runco Projectors was given the highest honor in the filmmaking community. DLP is the imaging technology found in all Runco projectors, and 8 out of 10 Commercial Theaters. DLP has achieved this status because it is recognized throughout the industry as the most accurate, reliable and visually stunning projection technology available. Runco was among the very first companies to make DLP available to consumer market.

How does DisplayPort 1.3 compare with HDMI 2.0 in terms of performance?

When comparing DisplayPort 1.3 with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.3 has several key advantages. First, the video bandwidth of DisplayPort 1.3 is much higher than HDMI 2.0. This means that DisplayPort 1.3 can support higher resolution timing such as 8K at 60Hz, where as HDMI 2.0 can support 4K at 60Hz max. Second, DisplayPort 1.3 has the ability to transmit multiple video streams on one cable through the MST feature allowing multiple monitors to be daisy-chained together (although there are limitations as to the number of displays and resolution supported, which makes it more appropriate for desktop uses than video walls). Finally DisplayPort includes installer-friendly locking connectors. HDMI doesn’t natively support locking connectors though many Planar products do provide support for threaded hex nuts for special-locking HDMI connector which installers can find in specialty stores or through distribution.

HDMI 2.0 does have two main advantages over DisplayPort 1.3. First, the max cable lengths achievable on HDMI are much higher than DisplayPort. Distances of 30 meters with 1080p are not uncommon with Planar displays. We’ve seen it work with 40 meters at lower resolution. For 4K on our Planar UltraRes products, we’ve regularly been able to get about 10 meters. On DisplayPort, the standard lists 3 meters maximum. Now, longer distances are possible depending on resolution and bit depth, but only up to about maybe 15 meters or so max at a lower resolution and only with a very high quality source and display. And then finally, HDMI has a much higher install base. Nearly every consumer source out there and displays both contain HDMI. Your set top boxes, your Blu-Ray players, your TVs, smart phones and tablets - everything has HDMI. Whereas DisplayPort is mainly confined to PCs and some desktop monitors and a few larger format displays today, but is growing in importance as a standard in the industry for connectivity.